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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Texas (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Texas. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Texas is located in Worcester County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Worcester County: Tolland (CT), Windham (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Cheshire (NH), Hillsborough (NH) & Providence (RI).

Below are the counties that are near Texas. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Texas:

  • Worcester County     (The home county of Texas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • West Auburn
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • West Auburn is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Auburn
    • North Oxford
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • North Oxford is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oxford
    • Rochdale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Rochdale is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochdale
    • Auburn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Auburn is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,701 people
    • Hodges Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Hodges Village is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Village
    • Oxford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Oxford is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,941 people
    • West Millbury
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • West Millbury is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millbury
    • West Oxford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • West Oxford is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oxford
    • Charlton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Charlton is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,698 people
    • Charlton Depot
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Charlton Depot is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton Depot
    • Cherry Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
    • Leicester
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Leicester is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leicester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,272 people
    • Charlton City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Charlton City is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton City
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • Smiths ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Smiths is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
    • Millington ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Millington is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • Holland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Holland is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,469 people
    • Brimfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
    • Wales
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Wales is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,862 people
    • West Brimfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • West Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brimfield
    • Tenneyville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Tenneyville is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenneyville
    • Monson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Monson is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,750 people
    • Palmer
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Palmer is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,174 people
    • Thorndike
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Thorndike is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
    • State Line
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • State Line is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • South Factory Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Three Rivers
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Three Rivers is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Rivers
    • Hampden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Hampden is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,154 people
    • North Wilbraham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • North Wilbraham is located in Hampden County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wilbraham
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • Ware
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Ware is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
    • Bondsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Enfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
    • Belchertown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
    • Pelham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pelham is located in Hampshire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • Woodville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Woodville is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Hayden Row
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Hayden Row is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayden Row
    • Hopkinton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Hopkinton is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,624 people
    • Marlborough Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Marlborough Junction is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough Junction
    • Marlborough
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Marlborough is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39,290 people
    • Ashland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Ashland is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,887 people
    • Metcalf
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Metcalf is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
    • Hudson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Hudson is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
    • East Holliston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • East Holliston is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Holliston
    • Holliston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Holliston is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holliston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,880 people
    • Framingham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Framingham is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Framingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73,892 people
    • Lower Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lower Village is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Village
    • Saxonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Saxonville is located in Middlesex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxonville
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • Bellingham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Bellingham is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,336 people
    • Franklin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Franklin is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,711 people
    • Medway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Medway is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,443 people
    • Acorn Terrace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Acorn Terrace is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn Terrace
    • Burnt Swamp Corner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Burnt Swamp Corner is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Swamp Corner
    • Millis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Millis is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,519 people
    • Rockville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Rockville is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Sheldonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Sheldonville is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldonville
    • Norfolk
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Norfolk is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norfolk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,938 people
    • Wrentham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Wrentham is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrentham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,083 people
    • Medfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Medfield is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,011 people
    • Plainville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Plainville is located in Norfolk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,280 people
  • Tolland County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • Union
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Union is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 844 people
    • Union
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Staffordville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Stafford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • State Line
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • State Line is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • Stafford Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Stafford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Stafford is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,834 people
    • East Willington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • East Willington is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Willington
    • Mount Hope
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Hope is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
    • Willington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Crystal Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
    • Gurleyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Gurleyville is located in Tolland County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurleyville
    • South Willington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Windham County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • Fabyan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Quinebaug
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • East Thompson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • East Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Thompson
    • North Grosvenor Dale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Thompson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,371 people
    • East Woodstock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Grosvenor Dale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Thompson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Mechanicsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Mechanicsville is located in Windham County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
    • West Thompson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • West Thompson is located in Windham County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Thompson
    • Woodstock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Woodstock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodstock is located in Windham County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,834 people
    • Harrisville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Harrisville is located in Windham County (CT)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisville
  • Providence County (RI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.
    • West Glocester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • West Glocester is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Glocester
    • Harrisville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Harrisville is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisville
    • Pascoag
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Pascoag is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pascoag
    • Glendale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Glendale is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Whipple
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Whipple is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whipple
    • Burrillville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Burrillville is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrillville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,810 people
    • Nasonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Nasonville is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nasonville
    • Slatersville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Slatersville is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slatersville
    • Branch Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Branch Village is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch Village
    • Chepachet
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Chepachet is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chepachet
    • Union Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Union Village is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Village
    • Foster
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Foster is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
    • Glocester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Glocester is located in Providence County (RI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glocester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,352 people

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Texas, see our County-by-County Page for Texas.

Cemeteries Near Texas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Texas.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Texas - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Texas covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Texas had railroad service and no post office.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Texas, with the one closest to Texas listed first.

  • North Oxford
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • North Oxford is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oxford
  • West Auburn
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • West Auburn is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Auburn
  • Rochdale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Rochdale is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochdale
  • Oxford
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oxford is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,941 people
  • Auburn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,701 people
  • Charlton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Charlton is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,698 people
  • West Oxford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Oxford is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oxford
  • West Millbury
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Millbury is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millbury
  • Charlton Depot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Charlton Depot is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton Depot
  • Charlton City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Charlton City is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlton City
  • West Sutton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • West Sutton is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sutton
  • Jamesville ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jamesville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Cherry Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
    • Leicester
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Leicester is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leicester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,272 people
    • Sutton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Sutton is located in Worcester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,576 people

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Texas. See our List of 1890's Communities around Texas.

Newspapers Published in Texas ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 179 newspapers that have been published in the area around Texas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Texas, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Texas.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Texas:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.

When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.

<3>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Texas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Texas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.